


someone precious

by Anatui



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Awkward Tension, Chocolate, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, High School, Honmei choco, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, Sleepovers, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29364963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatui/pseuds/Anatui
Summary: "My peers know I have no interest in honmei choco. I—" Ken hesitated, his eyes glued to the bowl he shared with Wormmon. "I would only accept honmei choco from someone important, someone precious.""Oh?" Jun had apparently recovered already. "Someone important and precious, huh? Who wouldthatbe?"Irritation swelling along with lethal curiosity, Daisuke kicked at her again, but she'd moved her legs out of reach. "Mind your own business, ugly!""Careful, Daisuke," she said in a sing-song tone, amusement creasing the skin around her eyes. "You sound like you might bejealous…"ORDaisuke and Ken have an awkward sleepover the weekend of Valentine's Day.
Relationships: Ichijouji Ken/Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29
Collections: Daiken Valentine's Exchange 2021





	someone precious

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sparkleworm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkleworm/gifts).



> HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, MOTHY!!!
> 
> This is set in February 2009 (the end of daiken's second year of high school, equivalent to juniors in US schools) because I'm anal af and used an actual calendar to figure out when Valentine's Day would fall on a weekend. You're welcome.
> 
> Just a few things to note for anyone unaware:  
> \- giri choco - obligation chocolate for friends/coworkers  
> \- honmei choco - "true feelings" chocolate for someone you're romantically involved with or interested in  
> \- okaa-san - mom  
> \- otou-san - dad  
> \- koi koi - a card game played with hanafuda cards (in _Summer Wars_ if you've seen that)  
> \- hanafuda - playing cards with pretty flowers and shit on them

Daisuke, Chibimon sitting atop his head, was waiting outside his school by the time Ken finally managed to escape the masses, an uncomfortably large haul of boxes in his arms.

He didn't have the heart to deny the proffered giri choco, even if he only received it because he refused to accept honmei choco. Of course, he couldn't explain _why_ he refused the honmei choco.

Not when the reason was the boy with wild cinnamon hair and a giant sunshiny grin waiting for him on the edge of the sidewalk.

Ken smiled as Daisuke met him halfway, grinning wider and wider as they got closer.

"You didn't have to come all the way out here," Ken said, cheeks coloring pink as he ducked his head behind the boxes of chocolate. "I could've met you at the station."

Daisuke scoffed, throwing his hands behind his neck as they walked. "What's the fun in coming all the way to Tamachi and waiting for you at the station? Of course we're going to walk over here and meet you!" He let out a high-pitched laugh, excited energy flowing off of him in waves. "We only hang out on the weekends, so I don't want to miss out on any time with you."

His words, flippant and easily given, only made Ken's flush deepen. "I meant I could meet you at the station _in Odaiba_."

That received a loud snort from Daisuke. "Don't be stupid, Ken," he said, like that was that, no room for argument.

And Ken didn't want to argue.

He was glad Daisuke had come to meet him, more pleased than he felt comfortable admitting, especially to Daisuke. He was happy Daisuke wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, excited to spend the weekend together…and absolutely terrified.

Tomorrow was Valentine's Day, and usually all that meant was that Ken had to endure awkward gifts from girls in his class, girls he hardly knew, and an occasional (and even more awkward) gift from a boy. Usually, Valentine's Day was just discomfort and mild irritation and, well, obligation.

This year, everything was different.

This year, Valentine's Day was a Saturday, a day he reserved exclusively for spending time with Daisuke. He'd put in the effort to make…no, _buy_ chocolates of his own, and this year, he was going to give them to someone.

When they reached his family apartment, Ken was eager and nervous and more than a little overwhelmed.

Daisuke had spent the entire trip chattering way more than normal, his energy level at an all-time high, and it only made Ken more anxious, more worried and excited about his planned confession. With how Daisuke was acting, it was almost as if he knew Ken's plans, as if he were waiting for the confession and stressing about how to reject him.

Ken had worried about a lot of things, had known there were a lot of factors outside his control, but Daisuke intuitively knowing his plan was not something he'd predicted. He had no idea how to handle that.

When Daisuke got distracted talking to Mama in the kitchen and having a snack, Ken hesitated before sliding the honmei choco inside his overnight bag. Wormmon settled in on his shoulder, soaking up the closeness after being apart all day, and murmured encouragements into his ear, carefully quiet in case Daisuke and Chibimon joined them. Like always, Ken was eternally grateful for his kindness and support, for his tender reassurance.

Ken left the boxes of giri choco except a couple, ones to share with Wormmon and Chibimon during their sleepover, and closed up his bag.

Thankfully, Daisuke was still in the kitchen, munching on a macaron cookie.

"There you are! Have you had one of these? They're so good," Daisuke practically shouted through a mouthful of raspberry. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, and grinned, the pink of the macaron still flecked over his teeth. "What took you so long? Let's go!"

Ken smiled fondly, heart stuttering at Daisuke's brazen behavior. "I'm all set," he said, voice soft, and he stepped close enough to give his mother a big hug. "I'll see you later, Mama."

The plan, of course, was for Ken to stay the whole weekend with Daisuke, to not come home until Sunday, but if tomorrow's confession didn't go in his favor…

Well, Ken was prepared for the worst, prepared to return home early if necessary.

*

Daisuke tapped his foot under the table, leg shaking and shaking and shaking with a powerful nervous energy. The fact that Ken kept shooting him pinched looks, like he was worried, like he _knew_ , was _not_ helping.

Of course, neither were his parents. Or Jun.

"Any good chocolates today?" Okaa-san asked, fishing for intel he had no interest in giving.

He'd gotten some giri choco, of course, but that was no different from normal…and there was only one person he wanted to get honmei choco from anyway, so he wasn't upset in the least that no girl had tried to give to him.

Jun snorted. "I'm sure only _Ken-kun_ got the _good_ chocolates today." She leaned across the table with a wicked grin, her big eyes studying Ken's pretty flushed face. "So how many was it? How many girls gave you honmei choco?"

Ken's eyes fell to his bowl of curry rice. "None. I haven't accepted any honmei choco."

"Really?" Otou-san frowned, maneuvering his spoon around his bowl and swallowing down a heaping spoonful before continuing. "I'd think you'd have the girls lined up to give you their true feelings." He paused with a laugh. "Boys too."

Ken's cheeks turned scarlet.

Across the table, Jun caught Daisuke's eyes and waggled her eyebrows, and he shot out his foot, jabbing her in the shin, blessedly out of view. She shrieked at the assault, but he didn't care. She needed a warning before she opened her giant mouth and blabbed things she didn't know anything about.

Daisuke tried to be inconspicuous by feeding Chibimon another big bite of curry. "Give him a break, Otou-san. Stop ragging on him."

"Daisuke…" Okaa-san chided, pursing her lips at him like he was the one being ridiculous. "Ken-kun _can_ speak for himself."

Well, of course he _could_. But no matter how often Ken came over and had dinner with them, no matter how often he was exposed to the Motomiya family's antics, he still teetered on the line between speaking for himself and being polite. Too often, he veered toward _polite_ instead of standing up for himself, and well, Daisuke was perfectly okay making up the difference. Protecting Ken.

But to his credit, Ken cleared his throat and _did_ speak up. "My peers know I have no interest in honmei choco. I—" He hesitated, his eyes glued to the bowl he shared with Wormmon. "I would only accept honmei choco from someone important, someone precious."

"Oh?" Jun had apparently recovered already. "Someone important and precious, huh? Who would _that_ be?"

Irritation swelling with lethal curiosity, Daisuke kicked at her again, but she'd moved her legs out of reach. "Mind your own business, ugly!"

"Careful, Daisuke," she said in a sing-song tone, amusement creasing the skin around her eyes. "You sound like you might be _jealous_ …"

He shot her a scowl. "What the hell would I have to be jealous of? I've _never_ gotten honmei choco, so it's not like I'm missing out on anything."

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

Sure, _Jun_ couldn't be fooled by him playing dumb, but surely Ken wouldn't pick up on it. The last thing Daisuke needed was Jun ruining his confession a whole day before he even got the chance to confess.

But Jun smirked. "Oh, I don't know, maybe you—"

Okaa-san sighed, irritation visible in the lines on her face. "Both of you, _stop_. If you can't be respectful to our guest— _your_ guest, Daisuke—then you can't eat dinner with us. You're making him uncomfortable."

Daisuke was pretty sure his parents were helping with making Ken uncomfortable, but for once, Okaa-san's reprimands came at the right time and worked to his advantage. For once, he'd happily take the scolding. As long as it meant Jun didn't out his little crush in the middle of dinner.

Well, his not so little crush.

"Now apologize," Okaa-san added, her voice sharp.

"Sorry," Daisuke mumbled, knowing Ken didn't really care.

But Jun grinned at Ken like he was her latest victim—and he might as well have been. "Sorry, Ken-kun," though she didn't sound sorry in the least. "Sorry my brother's such an idiot. But it's kind of endearing, don't you think? Maybe a little _precious_ …?"

Daisuke's eyes widened, cheeks flushing, and he looked away, refusing to meet Ken's eyes.

She was even teasing him while bullshit-apologizing to Ken. She was giving everything away, dammit. Ken wasn't supposed to find out how he felt until _tomorrow_.

Maybe, hopefully, Ken wouldn't figure out what she meant.

"Jun," Otou-san said, but she grinned at him like that would make up for it. And he just sighed and continued eating. So apparently she was right.

Daisuke glared at his curry but forced himself to keep eating.

When they were done, they could head back to his bedroom and not have to deal with any of this for the rest of the night. They could do whatever they wanted away from annoying prying eyes until bedtime.

*

Of course, bedtime proved to be no better than dinner.

Ken didn't usually have nightmares anymore, didn't usually wake up crying in the middle of the night. At least not during their sleepovers because Daisuke didn't remember the last time Ken had one.

But tonight was different.

Tonight, Daisuke slowly awoke to the distant sound of Ken sniffling. He didn't seem to be awake, didn't seem to be aware of anything, but he was crying, and Daisuke couldn't let that alone.

"Hey, Ken?" he whispered, leaning over the edge of his bed, angling himself toward the futon. "Ken, wake up."

Ken didn't wake up. Or even react to the sound of Daisuke's voice.

In the moonlight, there were tears streaming down Ken's cheeks, and anxiety and worry welling in his stomach, Daisuke slipped from his own bed to slide into the futon next to Ken. He curled up beside him, slowly rubbing his back and murmuring soft, reassuring words to soothe him.

Luckily, they hadn't woken up Chibimon or Wormmon, and as Ken calmed and his tears dried, Daisuke let himself fall back asleep too, holding Ken tight in his arms to keep him safe.

*

Everything was soft and warm when Ken woke the following morning, and he sighed happily as he stretched and relaxed again on the guest futon. It was never this warm, never this cozy—not when it was just him and Wormmon.

He blinked open his eyes, trying to see through his disheveled hair, but as he slowly became aware of his surroundings, it wasn't difficult to tell where the heat was coming from.

A very familiar arm was draped over his middle, curling around his waist and holding him in place. _Daisuke's_ arm tightened around his waist, keeping him flush against the body behind him— _Daisuke's_ body.

Ken bolted upright, eyes wide, breath short, tearing himself from Daisuke's grip and untangling their legs.

What the hell was Daisuke doing on the futon?

He had his own bed, and he'd gone to sleep there last night just like every other sleepover they'd ever had. Yet, here he was…not just sharing Ken's bed but wrapped so tight around him it had taken effort to pull away from him, to unwind himself from Daisuke's limbs.

Ken swallowed before daring to glance at Daisuke, his cheeks flushing at their closeness.

Thankfully, Daisuke hadn't opened his eyes yet. He hadn't done much more than whine a little that his sleep had been disturbed.

How utterly mortifying.

Ken buried his burning face in his hands and tried to calm down, steady his breathing, do whatever it took to banish the dark blush coloring his cheeks before Daisuke properly stirred and opened his eyes. The last thing he wanted was for Daisuke to wake up and think—

Well, he wasn't sure what, but Ken was sure he would get the wrong impression.

A deep yawn distracted him from his thoughts, from his panic, and he glanced down at Daisuke, not bothering to hide his blush, as his best friend slowly opened his eyes and looked up at him with a lazy smile.

"Sleep better?"

Ken frowned. "Better than what?"

Daisuke rubbed the sleep from his eyes, yawning again, louder and wider this time. "You were having a bad dream. Crying and shit."

"No…" He pursed his lips. "I'd remember that."

"I helped out before you really woke up." He shot Ken a proud grin and started to sit up too, still pressed far too close. "You calmed down and fell asleep again. I made sure."

Ken's blush was unmistakable now, and there was no hiding it.

How exactly had Daisuke helped calm him? By being here in the bed with him? Or had he done something else to make him relax? Had he rubbed his back? Had he touched him, caressed him, held him still and shushed him?

Had Ken said anything? Had he embarrassed himself? Had he cried and worried and given himself away?

No.

Daisuke was far too calm, too _normal_ for that.

"Oh," Ken said, slowly taking stock of the situation. "I guess I owe you thanks, then. For helping…for taking care of me." He hesitated, frowning, blush darkening. "You didn't have to sleep down here with me. You could've gone back to your own bed."

Daisuke grinned, his cheeks flushing a deep scarlet to match. "Yeah…"

Yes, he could have.

But he didn't.

Ken's chest constricted, desperately trying not to get his hopes up. He couldn't be too eager or too ambitious, couldn't let himself get carried away with his feelings and _imagine_ something that wasn't there.

Not today of all days.

Daisuke cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact, and slowly rose from the futon to gather the sleeping Chibimon in his arms. "You hungry? Let's go eat breakfast."

*

Something about Ken was off at breakfast.

To be fair, something about Ken had been off since they'd met after school yesterday. Maybe even since earlier in the week actually, but they'd only talked on the phone so that wasn't really much to go on.

But breakfast…breakfast was noticeable. Breakfast was awkward and stilted, and Ken spent much of the meal avoiding his eye contact and blushing.

Of course, the fact that Jun came out halfway through their meal, waltzing around and grinning like she ruled the apartment, was _not_ helping. The way she kept smirking at him and waggling her eyebrows like she knew he was working his way up to giving Ken the chocolates he'd made earlier this week—because, well, she _did_ —wasn't helping either.

The truly unsettling part, though, was Ken's reaction to her not-so-subtle teasing. He looked absolutely mortified and grew even more nervous.

Shit.

He'd figured it out. He'd learned Daisuke's plan, and it was _Ken_ , so of course he was too nice, too polite to come out and say anything.

Which…which meant…

Well, _what_ that meant, Daisuke had no idea.

Maybe Ken was anxious because he knew he'd have to reject him. That certainly seemed the most likely thing. But maybe, just _maybe_ , Ken was anxious for some other reason. One that, Daisuke hoped, wouldn't end quite so badly.

By the time breakfast ended, Daisuke had moved past worried that Ken might've figured everything out and straight on to paranoid.

They returned to his bedroom, and he glanced toward his closet every time Ken looked away, every time Ken wasn't paying strict attention. Which was pretty often because Ken was still not looking at him most of the time, even though they were playing cards—a game of koi koi Daisuke was definitely losing, partially from lack of skill but also from lack of _focus_.

Ken's hands trembled as he shuffled the hanafuda cards and dealt another round. "Are you going to catch up?" he asked, eyes darting up before falling back to the cards in his hand. "Or do you like to lose?"

Daisuke narrowed his eyes at his hand as he picked it up.

They usually egged each other on while playing these sort of games—or any sort of games—but neither of them were in the zone today. Daisuke, for instance, couldn't stop thinking about the bag of chocolates he'd tucked away in the top of his closet, safe from Chibimon and anyone else's prying, and wondering when he should pull it out and give it to Ken, when would be the best time to, funnily enough, put his heart on the line. A heart that had belonged to Ken since they were eleven years old.

Ken grabbed a card from the center and laid down his pair with a sigh. "Boar, dear, butterfly," he mumbled, staring down at the set, and worried his lip. Everything about his body was stiff and uncomfortable. "That's the fifth round I've won in a row. Do you…? Should we take a break?"

Daisuke swallowed.

Obviously, they needed to deal with the elephant in the room. They needed to get this out of the way and then maybe they could move on.

"Uh, yeah," he said slowly, staring at the cards he was still holding. "You know, I have something I want to show you. Um, if that's okay?"

Finally, Ken met his eyes, his cheeks a soft pink, and he gave a short nod, his pretty curtain of hair swaying with the movement. "Of course," he mumbled, and the moment Daisuke stood, he added, "Actually, I have something to show you too."

Daisuke cocked his head uncertainly, but he pushed any confusion aside to head for his closet and, on his tiptoes, sift around the upper shelf to find the bag he'd put his carefully crafted chocolates inside. The bag didn't look like much, wasn't that pretty, but he'd put a lot of work into getting the chocolates just right, to make them as best he could.

Ken deserved the best.

He turned around, clutching the little pinky lavender pouch to his chest, wetting his lips nervously. "I'm sure you know what this is by now—"

Daisuke froze.

Ken stood in front of him, his face a brilliant red, holding an intricate and beautiful decorated box, held out toward _him_. He must've been keeping it in his overnight bag.

"What's that?"

Blue-violet eyes darted down to the box, and Ken caught his lip between his teeth. "I thought…I thought it was obvious."

Daisuke frowned, holding his bag to his heart. "Ken, that…" He swallowed, trying to figure out what was happening. "That looks like a box of chocolate, and that doesn't make any sense. Why would you…?"

Ken visibly deflated, his shoulders falling, his whole body slumping. "Right," he mumbled, "I'll just—put it away then."

He started to turn away, and Daisuke panicked, not wanting to lose this opportunity.

"Wait!" Daisuke shouted, grabbing him by the wrist before he was facing away. "Let me just...let me give this to you first, okay?" He practically shoved the pastel bag into Ken's hand, fumbling and almost dropping it in the process. "I know I'm not anyone special. I'm not important or, you know, _precious_ , but I just—" He took a deep breath, trying to stop his hands from trembling, but there was no stopping now that he'd started. "I want you to have this. No expectations, no obligations, nothing in return. Just my heart."

He couldn't look at Ken, couldn't bring himself to meet those blue-violet eyes and see the truth in them.

"Daisuke…"

He took a deep breath and finally ventured to look at Ken's face, still flushed, but now his eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "Ken?"

"I can't accept this," Ken murmured, holding the little bag close to his chest.

Daisuke nodded, disappointment flaring up in his chest, no matter how expected that response was. "Right."

"Not without you accepting this too." Ken held out the box to him again, hand shaking enough the contents rattled.

He took the delicate box slowly, holding it carefully, not wanting to damage anything inside, not wanting to break it. "Ken…what is this?" He stared down at the pretty box, not understanding. Because the only thing that made sense _didn't make sense_.

A gentle smile spread across Ken's face, and he tilted his head to the side, his shimmering hair framing his face. "My heart in return," he said softly.

Oh.

Daisuke's breath quivered.

"Although," Ken added, his tears falling with a slow blink, "in truth, you've always had my heart. You've held it in your hands since the moment we first Jogressed."

Chocolate eyes falling shut, Daisuke released a breathless laugh, his own eyes stinging with tears he hadn't expected. "Ken—" His voice cracked.

But Ken pressed close and covered his mouth with a simple kiss, short and sweet and perfect. "I know," he murmured, pulling back just enough to speak before diving in again.

Daisuke clutched the box tight in his hand as he wrapped his arms around Ken's waist and drew him closer, crushing their chests together and kissing him with all his might. He'd wanted this moment, wanted to kiss Ken for years, and he wasn't going to waste time now that he could.

The bed squeaked in the distance. "Daisuke! Daisuke!"

He pulled back with an irritable sigh. "Yeah, Chibimon?"

"Can we eat the chocolate now?"


End file.
